Frappuccinos and Flirtations
by MyrcellaBaratheon
Summary: Coffee shop AU. Enough said.


When he first sees her, she's behind the counter, trying to stop the milk from spilling while pouring sugar into a cup. Her hair is coming out of its plait, fiery strands surrounding her face like a blazing halo. Her brow is furrowed in concentration, and she looks like she hasn't slept in days. He's not surprised, considering it's six in the morning. There's a splattering of freckles on her nose, and he finds himself visualising what it would be like to be close enough to count every single one. Shaking his head slightly, he tries to focus his gaze on something- _anything _else. It proves futile however, because he's constantly drawn back to her. As the queue shuffles along, he gets near enough to study her eyes. Not emerald, he decides, but more of a mossy green. They clash brilliantly with her auburn locks.

It was love at first sight, for him at least.

ooOOoo

Lily Evans had been having a particularly bad day. Her boss Horace Slughorn had called her at five in the morning to inform her that another employee, Benjy Fenwick was sick, and that he needed her to fill in for him. Luckily her lecture at uni started mid-afternoon, and she needed any spare cash she could get. She jumped out of bed, had the quickest shower of her life, got dressed and was at the coffeeshop by half five.

She went about the familiar routine mechanically, still half asleep. Tendrils of hair began to escape the untidy plait she had pulled it into as she raced out the door, and she blew them out of her face impatiently.

She was pouring cream into a lady's drink when her friend and fellow barista Marlene McKinnon leaned over to whisper into her ear.

"That boy has been staring at you for the past five minutes."

She looked up and sure enough, there was a man about three people back in the queue gazing unabashedly at her. Hazel eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses, and his thick black hair was rumpled as though he'd been constantly running his fingers through it. She raised an eyebrow at him, though internally she was panicking, worried that she had done her makeup wrong earlier in her haste to get to the coffeeshop. He merely smirked in response. Coming to the conclusion that he was simply checking her out, she sighed irritably and resumed making the latté.

When it was his turn, he walked casually up to the counter, the smirk still playing at his lips. His whole demeanor just emanated confidence. She waited for him to order, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. He remained silent.

"Well?" she snapped, "What do you want?"

"You." he answered easily.

"I'm afraid you'd have to pay extra for that." she said dryly, not amused at his fowardness.

"You're worth it." he winked at her, but there was as softer edge to his voice. "How much extra?"

"Oh nothing major," she replied airily, "just several hundred pounds and the blood of a virgin."

"Money's no option, and as for latter well, that's what my friend Peter is for." he grinned cheekily.

The people behind him were beginning to look impatient, so Lily decided to wrap it up.

"Look, are you going to order or not? I don't have time for this and neither do the other customers." She may regret being this rude to him later, but there was one thing Lily was not, and that was a morning person.

Seeming to realise that the angry glares and annoyed huffs were directed at him, he finally decided to order.

"Coffee to go, black."

"Like your soul?" she quipped, moving around to fix up the drink.

"Of course not," he said, placing a hand over his heart as if to fake offence, "I sold my soul a long time ago."

"I hope you got a good price for it." she remarked, pouring the coffee.

"Oh definitely. I exchanged it for my incredible hair." he ruffled the back of it as he said this, making it even messier than before.

She eyed him for a moment, then sighed theatrically. "I think you've been scammed, mate."

"Hey!" he said, affronted, "Don't hate on the hair."

She rolled her eyes at him, then picked up the cup to write his name on the side.

"What's your-"

"James," he interjected smoothly, shooting her a charming grin. "James Potter."

"Lily," called Marlene, "my damn cash register's stuck again!"

Walking over to the offending object, she gave it a quick whack. For some unknown reason, she seemed to be the only one who could get it to work once it got stuck. Returning to her counter, she picked up the cup again.

"All right then Potter," she said, scrawling his name on it and handing him the cup. "It's been a pleasure." she drawled.

"I hope to see you again soon Lily." he added, with a hint more sincerity. Sending her one more dazzling smile, he turned and left.

It was only several hourse later when Lily and Marlene were collecting their tips, did she discover that he had tipped her an extra twenty pounds, along with his phone number on one of the napkins.


End file.
